The meaning of Rose Landry in Heated Rivalry
The case for metaphorical mirrors
In one of my first articles, I detailed how the characters in Heated Rivalry use mirrors to hide something. Often Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander hide their feelings from each other or Scott Hunter hides his sexuality from the world. But, those are literal mirrors you can see in the film. As discussed in “When characters serve more than one purpose” authors and screenwriters can use characters for multiple reasons. In that article I outlined how characters closest to Kip Grady represent his heart and mind. These characters showed us how Kip felt and thought about himself in the context of his secret romance with Scott Hunter. By knowing what they represent, they allow us to understand more from these characters that can’t be explained in dialogue or blocking.
We learn through Elena, who represents Kip’s mind, that Kip values himself equally with Scott and demands to be treated as such even if Scott thinks he is giving Kip everything. Because even though Kip agrees with keeping their relationship secret, Scott uses his position as a famous hockey player to shove Kip back into the closet, wrecking Kip’s self-worth and crushing his values. If you truly love someone, would you deny them their true selves of living out proudly as a gay man? No. Kip and the audience do understand Scott’s position but it doesn’t negate the fact he caused Kip harm asking Kip to minimize himself for Scott.
We learn from Kip’s dad, George, Kip’s heart, that when Kip ignores his heart, he fundamentally ignores his true self and he doesn’t show up fully to his community that loves him for who he is. Eventually, he realizes no man (or woman but that’s moot here) is worth losing yourself, your family or your friends over.
However, we also learn through Elena that Kip wants Scott to live his fullest life even if Scott has hurt Kip along the way. “He deserves sunshine. And, so do you.” And, we know that Kip is incredibly forgiving, especially of himself, when he apologies to his dad about his behavior. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” Because by apologizing to his dad, and dad offering his unconditional love and understanding in return, we see Kip give himself grace when he agreed to the relationship that ultimately cost more than he was willing to pay.
Have I said before that we love Kip here? And, George and Elena (because they are really Kip too)? Oh, not in this article yet? I might have in that other article.
Heart and Mind Characters are not the only ways characters are used to help tell the story of a more prominent character. So, about those mirrors. We aren’t going to talk about literal mirrors. We are going to talk about Mirror Characters.
This might be the time when you close your laptop and say “I’m not interested in learning this as it will take away the joy of watching films or reading books.” And, I can absolutely say that once you understand more the degree to which filmmakers use characters, settings and metaphors to tell their story, your viewing experience completely changes. These individual elements that make for good storytelling become easier to find. For me at least, I can no longer work on projects when watching films I want to see: No more crochet, no more balancing budgets, and no more online shopping/scrolling. My eyes and mind are locked into that screen.
But, the joy does not go away. Rather, it changes. My ability to appreciate the art of storytelling has only increased tenfold after learning this information. I do still love a good story at its face value but finding out more than what is in the text, especially when it IS a good story, is like a puzzle that I want to finish that doesn’t have a still picture to reference. It’s a moving reference.
I love real puzzles though. I have to be careful starting one because I often won’t stop to the detriment of sleeping and other normal life habits like eating, cleaning, caring for my kids and remembering I have a spouse (oops). Though, she’s my supplier so it’s not entirely my fault. Right?!
But, I want you to think about the last time you saw a film and couldn’t stop thinking about it days later. Maybe you did a Reddit deep dive about anything related to the film or recommended it to your friend because you felt its meaning was deeper than just the story itself. THOSE films are the ones hiding subtext that your subconscious is trying to work out. You just might not have the tools, yet, to realize how to bring those subconscious thoughts into working thought. Because, how many of us reading this blog went to film school that taught filmmakers these tools? Probably nobody. And, if you did (go to film school and are reading this blog), color me flattered.
Film subtext puzzles consume me in the same way as real puzzles. Once I get into decoding the subtext, I can’t let it go. I need to find all of the pieces. It’s fun…for me. Maybe not you. So, this might be your moment to close the tab and move on with other things because once you see these Mirror Characters, closely related to Heart and Mind Characters, there is no going back.
I was talking to a friend today about interpreting subtext in film. She sent me a video of an English PhD student much more educated than I am in film making and literature discussing subtext in Heated Rivalry. She is making a whole series and is much more eloquent and studied than I am in this space.
My friend and I, who are neither formerly trained in this arena, chatted about the definition of subtext and interpreting film. I said that I didn’t agree with this particular person’s use of the word ‘subtext’ in her most recent video. And, honestly, I don’t agree with most content creators’ use of that word when describing film analysis (even beyond Heated Rivalry). When most creators use that term, they are describing their interpretation of something they see or hear on the screen, often details in isolation, and make some grand statement about it without thinking about it with the overarching themes of the film.
Picture from: https://heated-rivalry.com/heated-rivalry-season-one/
Jacob Tierney recently discussed how many people who love Heated Rivalry are finding details in the show that are ‘Happy Accidents’; details that he had not intended to be in the series but their presence delights the fans who’ve found meaning in it. The specific detail in questions is the piece above their heads in Ilya’s bed in “Rose” episode 4. Fans rave that Tierney, in a stroke of genius, selected this piece to foreshadow the scene in “The Cottage” episode 6 where Ilya and Shane drive off into the credits. Tierney has stated that this piece was in fact, not picked to foreshadow that scene. I’ve said this before that filmmakers lie. But, I think he’s telling the truth here. Double whiplash!
Here’s why I think he’s telling the truth.
My working use of the word ‘subtext’ is finding consistent patterns in film that convey a deeper meaning which could include, but is not limited to, looking at one scene to see how multiple elements work together to tell us something deeper about the story. Of course, more commonly for me, the study of subtext is to look at the overarching themes in the whole piece.
This picture on the wall in context with everything happening in this scene, does not give us any additional information about the subtext of Heated Rivalry. If they were discussing the future with that over their heads, then I might make the assumption that this thing over their heads does mean something. But, they aren’t. Ilya asks Shane to stay. Shane agrees. While this is important in their relationship development, it has nothing to do with that picture that fans attribute to foreshadowing their future.
Which brings me back to a detail the English PhD’s most recent video where she discusses the ‘subtext’ of the phone Shane holds when he’s watching Ilya Rosanov interviews in Episode 1 “Rookies”. This show covers years of their relationship unfolding and technology is one of the easiest ways to show us when something is happening if that universe happens to be based in our reality. She talks about the subtext of the phone helps us understand when this scene occurs. To me, that is not subtext. That is text in which a detail on set helps us orient ourselves in a time and place. That is just information to set a scene.
She also goes into some other details in that video about Shane’s character and his motivations while sitting with his parents in the first restaurant scene that I also don’t think are subtext. I think they are just text. But, maybe that is just my very narrow definition of this kind of interpretation. I won’t die on this hill. Who am I to tell someone how to interpret art? Literally, no one. Or, at least, I’m not significant in this space of film analysis to be able to have a say about someone else’s opinions.
What I’m most interested in and what I tend to look for are the intentional details used over and over again by a filmmaker that DO provide additional information beyond the text, or what we see on film, beyond text like a specific cell phone in a single scene. The information beyond what that text tells us is much more interesting and fun to work out.
Now, phones in Heated Rivalry do have a meaning which I hope to discuss in another piece and the dialogue in that restaurant scene about YouTube rabbit holes reveals many things about Shane and his parents that I also want to discuss in another piece. But, I vastly disagree with her take on what each of those scenes means based on overarching themes that I found in the whole series (with the help of some of my friends who I try to properly give credit to whenever I can).
But, that brings me to this last bit before we move on to mirrors. That, while I agree that once an artist releases something for the public to consume, it is up to us to interpret it as we see fit. Most artists agree with this sentiment as well.
I agree with this with one caveat, filmmakers don’t make great film without serious intention and forethought in how they tell that story. They include subtext to make their stories richer, more complex, and more informative. These intentions, this puzzle with pieces scattered throughout the film, is what I’m here for and what I want to write about.
Sorry about that sidequest. If you’re really interested in serious film subtext discussion using historical paintings, tons of old and new film references and specific filming techniques (and where I cut my baby-teeth on learning about this type of film interpretation), please head on over to this Substack.
Warning though, that means you have to watch (become obsessed with) a completely different show that Tierney quotes as being foundational in instructing and informing Williams and Storrie on how their characters should interact. The chemistry between the two main male love interests in this other series is electrifying. Another warning, this particular writer is long-winded.
Now that I’ve finished that bit, I now want to talk about those metaphorical mirrors, Mirror Characters.
These Mirror Characters often aren’t difficult to find if you know some tricks used in the film industry to tell us we’re looking at a Mirror Character. When looking for someone in film that might reflect information about main characters you can use these clues to find Mirror Characters: A similar name, style of clothing, story lines, goals, or characteristics (like injuries or character traits). They can have large or small roles and can be best friends, lovers, enemies, family members, or someone as minor as an unnamed extra.
One time it was pointed out to me that a character whose face wasn’t even shown was a Mirror Character just by the bow in her hair. The bow had the same pattern as the pattern in the shirt of one the main male protagonists. Her screen time was less than 10 seconds. But, her blocking in the scene reinforced one of the themes that the main protagonist struggles with.
Even if you didn’t consciously clock it, you might recognize the main characters in the movie, Lilo and Stich (2002), are Mirror Characters, as well as the dragon and Elodie in Damsel (2024), and more recently, Grace and Rocky in Project Hail Mary (2026). These Mirror Characters all have the same challenge to overcome but more commonly Mirror Characters hide in more supporting roles. Their challenges are often smaller in comparison to the main character or issues are portrayed as humorous and of negligible importance. Oftentimes the resolution of their challenge will help echo the later resolution of the main character’s problem giving those with spidey subtext skills a preview of what is to come for the main protagonist.
Which leads me to Rose; she serves more than one purpose just like Heart and Mind Characters serve multiple purposes. Rose, played by Sophie Nélisse, is a Mirror Character.
If we apply the rule about character names as a clue to their role in film (or books) we can immediately assume that Rose Landry is a Mirror Character for Ilya Rozanov. Did I spend 3 minutes one day rearranging their first and last names to see if the letters matched perfectly? Maybe. They don’t. But, the remaining letters can be arranged to spell out ‘I ador v’ or, a crude ‘I adore you’ message. That’s maybe taking this puzzle piece hunt a little too far, or not, depending on your mileage. Someone should ask Reid if that was her intention in the Heated Rivalry book. She would have created the name ‘Rose Landry’ after naming ‘Ilya Rosanov’ because he was a named character in Game Changers, the first book in the series.
But, having each letter be used in the Mirror’s name is not paramount to the use of that character. What’s important is that we can see characteristics of the main character in the Mirror Character and understand the Mirror Character reveals information about other more central characters.
Rose was easy to identify initially. Honestly, identifying her as a Mirror character was quite boring. There was no challenge. Where is the fun in that? Even though I knew immediately she was a mirror of Ilya, what we should learn from her about Ilya was harder to suss out. (Which made me question if she really was a Mirror Character because there didn’t seem to be anything specific to learn about Ilya through Rose at first.)
So, let’s look at some of those characteristics I outlined earlier to make sure that she is in fact his mirror: A similar name, style of clothing, story lines, goals, characteristics, or proximity to specific imagery related to that main character.
Name: Rose sounds like Rosanov. While a little on the nose, it still works as a clue to determine her role.
Style of Clothing: This is a little bit harder to discern between differently gendered characters because often men and women dress according to their gender roles based on the society within which it is written, you can still look at colors, patterns, styles or even conversations about clothing (All-Star Game weekend!). Rose seems to wear expensive, but not ostentatious clothing, because well, she’s incredibly rich. Considering we see her in about five, maybe six, outfits, it might be hard to judge her style with that little bit of screen time. Though Shane tells us she and her friends are always dressed nicely which was the impetus to elevate his style as well.
Picture from: Reddit r/findfashion
Do you remember the photo series where Ilya finds out Shane is dating Rose? She wears this royal blue coat that matches Connor Storrie’s, who plays Ilya, blue eyes and matches the same color of at least one of the blue vodka bottles. Remember what vodka represents? No? Read about it here.
She also wears a leopard print shirt when Shane first meets her. It’s similar in pattern as Ilya’s Jean Paul Gaultier leopard print shirt in the club scene in the same episode.
Pictures from: https://heated-rivalry.com/heated-rivalry-season-one/
Ilya tends to wear higher end work-out and casual clothes than the other hockey players in this series. Ilya’s clothing style is very elevated Slavic while hers is very elevated movie star.
Status: Rose and Ilya represent similar roles in their professions, they are the elite of the elite in hockey and film making. All eyes are on them. She appears to love her job and the people she meets along the way but doesn’t take her roles seriously. She makes fun of the movies she is in which has a similar quality to Ilya’s perspective on his profession.
He is an amazing hockey player but isn’t super serious about it. He loves the sport and what it’s done for him. But, he approaches hockey differently than Shane. He’s less serious about it than Shane. Ilya’s talent seems to come naturally and aided by his hypervigilance and cunning. While Shane treats his craft like a science knowing as much as he can to make the best decisions on how to optimize his abilities. Ilya smokes and he drinks alcohol unlike Shane who doesn’t seem to know how to set down a shot glass when the shot is gone. He stays out late at the club while Shane stays in eating salmon and brown rice.
Characteristics: Rose accepts Shane for who he is even before she realized he is gay. She likes his idiosyncrasies and probably appreciates that he sees her for Rose and not some massive movie star. She thinks he’s funny and kind. She doesn’t want to ‘fix’ him when he does come out to her finally nor does she want to blame him for leading her on. Which, I don’t think he does but I think a woman might come to that conclusion in this particular dynamic. She understands his high-profile position in a sport that isn’t known for its openness to queer players.
Ilya accepts Shane for who he is and loves his ‘boring’ traits. He doesn’t try to label or define Shane nor does he want to change Shane in any way. He, too, understands Shane’s need to stay closeted because of the nature of hockey and their rivalry. Equally, he doesn’t blame Shane for leading him on through this years long thing they have. Again, I don’t think Shane is but Ilya could think that.
Storyline: They are both romantic interests of Shane. Of course, the text shows us that Rose is a rebound relationship for Shane after both Shane’s and Ilya’s walls come crumbling down following the Tuna Melt meal. But, we’ve seen Shane now for years come back to Ilya over and over again even when Ilya didn’t always treat Shane so kindly. How is Rose any different from one of those instances of togetherness if she is Ilya’s mirror? Stay tuned…..
An added bonus to storyline is …
Experiences: In “I’ll Believe in Anything” episode 5, Rose asks Shane who is still in a sling from his hockey accident, “How’s jerking off?” Shane says “Ma’am, I’m at my parent’s house..so.” Rose, “So, constant, endless?” He replies “Pretty much.” No other person do we see Shane speak this openly about sex than with Ilya. And, it’s not subtle at all. She gets right to the heart of what she expects he’s doing and Shane is a little shy about it. This dynamic we see between Ilya and Shane more often in the beginning of the series but it’s still there. Any other time sex is mentioned in front of Shane beyond Ilya or Rose, he freezes.
This experience of easiness with Rose mirrors how easy Shane finds it is to be with Ilya when they are together.
Imagery: Roses. They’re sprinkled throughout this series. Articles down the road will reveal more about why imagery of roses were used by the filmmakers. But, for the sake of this particular ‘rose’ take a look behind Rose as she is painted blue. Just on the wall there in the foreground of the cabinet. Do you see it?
That isn’t a reference to her. That is specifically a reference to Ilya which we will get into later.
All of these things could point us in the direction that Rose is Ilya’s mirror, and they do pretty much make a good case that Rose is a Mirror Character for Ilya. But they are all just surface level clues. And, we could be reading into clues that aren’t really there. Until I started to disentangle the dialogue, did I confirm my suspicion that she was Ilya’s mirror.
What stood out most about her dialogue are two scenes in which she uses numbers and how those scenes connected with other scenes with Rose that don’t use numbers. When dialogue includes numbers in a show that doesn’t lend itself to needing numbers, you need to start paying attention.
A movie like “The Martian” (2015) making calculations about how many potatoes he has to grow in limited Martian soil to ration food until a rescue attempt can save him or the velocity of a space ship intercepting a free floating astronaut in space, numbers are everywhere and expected. (Yes, I’m an Andy Weir fan.) But, besides goals in Heated Rivalry numbers aren’t relevant in this series. Why does Rose talk about the number of movies she’s been in or how many boyfriends were closeted? For me, numbers were the little clues that confirmed Rose as Ilya’s mirror that we will outline below.
In episode 5 “I’ll Believe in Anything”, what does she say about her boyfriends in the scene below? That “70% actually 80% of my boyfriends have dumped me for guys.” Those numbers are unimportant in this context. Why would she be so specific about that? Couldn’t she just say “most of my boyfriends ended up gay”? But, she didn’t, she gave a specific percentage. She even edited her guess about her boyfriends, increasing the percentage of men who came out gay up 10% higher. Why? That intentional change to her calculations seems deliberate for the audience. This is the filmmakers saying “Hey! Wake up! This dialogue is important!”
Picture from: https://heated-rivalry.com/heated-rivalry-season-one/
If you have spidey subtext senses and can already see a pattern forming, you might be able to see how these numbers are important to revealing more about Ilya. Or, rather solidifying your theory that Rose is a mirror for Ilya. But, it was not until she started talking about movies that it all clicked for me.
This number analysis is even wilder, or requires a little bit of intelligence on our part. Buckle up!
In “Rose”, episode 4, we are given two pieces of information about the people who will be at this restaurant JJ invites Shane to. On the phone, JJ says there will be actors from one of the hottest movies being filmed and do we remember that bartender with the radiant smile? He also tells us that Shane should be on the look out for even the most famous of the members of the cast of that movie, Rose Landry.
In Shane’s and Rose’s first ‘date’ where they meet accidentally at the restaurant, they chat about their careers and Rose reveals information about her family. She easily introduces herself to Shane with “Hi, I’m Rose by the way.” However, he needs no introduction. She already knows him.
She then says, “I’m a Michigan girl with three brothers. Have a fry Shane Hollander. Detroit is not going to go easy on you tomorrow night.” In just three short sentences, Rose establishes that she is kind, down to earth, and knowledgeable about the hockey world despite her status in the movie industry.
Shane can relate already. She speaks his language in terms of his career knowing which team he will play next, how that individual team performs, and when his next Montreal Metros game is to be played. Yet, she presents her directness so kindly that he’s able to navigate this social situation with ease.
If we think about how Ilya and Shane first meet, we know that they are both very aware of each other. Shane introduces himself even if Ilya doesn’t need that information. They are both incredibly talented kids quickly rising to the top ranks of the MLH draft. Why would they need a formal introduction besides maintaining social norms (which Shane is want to do here)? Thankfully Shane was brave enough to take the first step. What they didn’t explicitly know is that the other was watching their own journey.
This is the same with Rose: Rose has been paying attention to Shane’s career and Shane has done so for Rose in return, unbeknownst to each other.
They continue their ‘date’ with Rose sharing her experience as an actor. As one of the most sought after actresses in the film industry, Rose has been in many films. Rose admits she has worked since she was eight years old. In fact, she was kidnapped in that movie. She claims despite the nature of the film, she had a great time learning how to act when she is kidnapped because she has been kidnapped in four movies since then. No, five actually.
“I have been kidnapped in no less than four movies, including the one that I’m in now.” But, she makes a mistake admitting the current film is a kidnapping one. She clearly breached her contract of not disclosing any details of the movie to Shane and begs him not to tell anyone else.
So, more numbers here. With specific attention to the fact that she changes her calculation from four to five movies. Now, she never said “five movies”. But just after that slipup, she calls our attention to the fact that she made a mistake. This is the filmmakers doing it again. They really want us to pay attention to this dialogue. This adjustment in numbers or calculations has been seen before. Those two scenes with adjusting numbers have to be connected in some way. But, honestly, it’s still not clear why all of this movie talk is so important. How does this help us know more about Ilya or even connect Rose to Ilya at all?
Fast-forward to “I’ll Believe in Anything” episode 5 where Rose is being painted blue for reshoots of the role she discussed with Shane at the restaurant. She complains that “This movie makes no sense” and how kidnapping movies were easier. “I miss being kidnapped, I regret shape-shifting.” If Rose is Ilya, what is Ilya saying here?
At their first date Rose talked about how she was in a lot of movies and a considerable amount were about kidnapping. Considering that Rose is quite young, somewhere in line with how old Shane is. So, early to mid-20s at this point? How many movies do we think she’s actually starred in? It can’t be that many more than the ones in which she was kidnapped.
We could make a very small mental leap here that the number of movies she was kidnapped in outnumbered by a considerable amount the number of movies she was not kidnapped in. Or, about 70-80% of the movies she’s made are kidnapping movies. Do you see where I’m going here?
What were those other types of movies about? We don’t know except for this one in which she is a shape-shifter. So, we have to think if Rose is Ilya, what does he do regularly that has a different ‘flavor’ than the same sort of thing elsewhere. Because, she’s in movies where she is kidnapped and also in movies where she isn’t kidnapped, two different ‘flavors’ of movies. Those not kidnapped movies are different. She says about this one in particular that it “makes no sense.”
Also, this shape-shifting movie is harder than the kidnapping movies. What in Ilya’s life does he do regularly in which some of those things (being kidnapped) are easier than others (not being kidnapped)? And, the ones that are easier, he does more frequently (the kidnapping movies) than movies like this specific movie where he (Rose) takes on a different shape? What is he doing now that “makes no sense”?
Lastly, she is specifically being painted here because she is reshooting parts of the film that need a do-over. Is there anything that he does that “makes no sense” that he has to do over to make it better?
Let’s rewind again back to the gay boyfriend number conversation again. Think about how close that percentage is to what we leaped into guessing was about the number of movies she makes that were kidnapping movies (about 70-80%).....
Hopefully, I’m not being redundant here but I want to write it all again to let you get to the answer before you read on. And, when I say subtext is about pattern recognition, this is what I mean.
- Rose is in many movies.
- Rose stars mostly in kidnapping movies but sometimes has other parts where she is not kidnapped. We can assume this because she is not old enough to have made so many other movies that they would outnumber the amount of movies where she is kidnapped.
- Rose states that this particular movie “makes no sense”.
- Rose has to redo some parts of the movie that didn’t work out before.
- Rose is a shape-shifter in this current movie (that “makes no sense”).
- Rose asserts that playing a character who gets kidnapped is easier than this current role.
- Rose admits that 70%, actually 80% of her boyfriends end up gay.
To me any discussions of movies from Rose is really a discussion of the cross-section between Ilya’s sexuality and the people who he sleeps with.
Easy right? No. It took me a while to get there. And, I got heavily sidetracked with the subtext of her family members as well as the sequence number ‘4 and 5’ that is littered throughout this entire series. Let’s hope my writing stamina continues and we get to those other fun subtext bits later. Back to mirrors and subtext.
What do we know about Ilya and his sexual partners? He admits he is “only a little” gay.
But we have gathered other clues while watching the show that paint a broader picture of Ilya’s sexual behaviors. We know that he has a friends-with-benefits situation with Svetlana that fizzles out over the series but they remain good friends. We see him dancing with women in clubs and his reputation is that he is a “lady’s man” according to David and a few bits of dialogue with Marleau. Of course, we know any sex with men would not be publicly known because of hockey which means we’d never hear rumors of that going around. So, chatter around Ilya is that he sleeps with women often but we never hear anything outside of his core friends about any sexual relationships with men. Ilya jokingly complains at the cottage that in every city he has beautiful women available to him whenever he’d like. He also tells Shane that at his house while eating Tuna Melts as if he has a woman ready to sleep with in every major city he plays hockey in.
We also know that he has had sex with Sasha back in Russia when they were younger or maybe even more recently. We don’t know for sure but Sasha pops up enough times in the dialogue to let us know he stills exists in the social orbit of Ilya and Svetlana. We can also assume Svetlana thinks that Ilya is still interested in men because she tries to set Ilya and Sasha up together during the Sochi Olympics; which alerts the audience that Ilya, up to starting this relationship with Shane, probably slept with men occasionally. We don’t know specifically if he continues to sleep with men during his long, undefined relationship with Shane but he admits he does so with women.
So, Ilya sleeps mostly with women and sometimes with men. What percentage would you guess? 70%, actually 80% of Ilya’s sexual partners are women? Hmmm….
Now, being bisexual doesn’t necessarily mean that the attraction you experience towards one gender correlates to the percentage of time they are your partner. You could be more attracted to men but for whatever reason find it easier to have relationships with women. Or, vice versa. But, this is film. We can only make guesses about a character based on the information provided on screen. Ilya without saying it out loud is bisexual; he admits he mostly sleeps with women, occasionally with men because he is “only a little” gay (my guess - about 30%, actually 20% gay).
Let’s get back to Rose. She’s been in a ton of movies, and most notably in many kidnapping movies. Any movie in which she is kidnapped is a woman Ilya has slept with. Because, like the number of men Rose has been in a relationship with that turn out gay, “70%, actually 80%” which is awfully close to the percentage of movies in which we assumed Rose has been kidnapped. The vast majority of the people Rose has been in a relationship with are gay men, including Shane. The vast majority of the people Ilya has slept with are women.
Rose’s discussion of the types of movies she is cast in and the percentage of boyfriends that turn out gay tells us about Ilya’s sex life. Ilya mostly sleeps with women. But, the current person he is sleeping with is Shane. In this particular movie Rose plays a shape-shifter character, or Ilya shifts into the other side of his sexuality which is having sex with a man.
This leads me back to the line “This movie makes no sense”. This is what I’ve been working up to this whole time. Ilya does not express to us any of his struggles or his frustrations with anyone on film until he does so with Shane. Additionally, he doesn’t confide in anyone on film his feelings for Shane so we have to infer his feelings from the text: how Ilya moves around or talks to Shane, that he texts him constantly, how he smiles when he thinking about hooking up with him or jiggling his leg constantly in anticipation of meeting up with Shane, and so on. We also don’t know how Ilya is dealing with his family issues, being an outsider in North America, his past loves or losses, his hopes and dreams. But, this subtext tells us explicitly that Ilya thinks it would be easier to meaninglessly sleep with women than be in love with this man because loving Shane “makes no sense.” This is all in episode 5 no less. We’re near the end of the series and Ilya still can’t quite understand why this particular man is who he finally fell for. Out of all of the possible people out there, it had to be a man who is described as his rival in a profession that doesn’t have room for gay sex or gay relationships that he falls madly in love with.
Could this also allude to us that Ilya doesn’t think he deserves Shane? “This movie makes no sense” could also imply that Ilya doesn’t believe that Shane reciprocates the same feelings towards Ilya. It “makes no sense” that Shane could love him back too. Though, I think that’s a little less of a clear connection. It is plausible with how fiercely Ilya loves the people closest to him and is surprised when some fiercely love him back in return.
Rose has a very short screen time. What other gems can we find?
Let’s think about what Rose means for Shane. If she is Ilya’s mirror, then, really just Ilya, what does she accomplish in Shane’s life that he needed to overcome to be able to return to the true Ilya fully?
We know that she accomplishes as Rose, the character, the opportunity to be in a romantic relationship with a woman of which we have not seen yet nor has it been alluded to that Shane has even been in a relationship with a woman. Once he tries out a relationship with a woman, he realizes that he very much does not want to date women. The one woman he did try to be ‘straight’ with is perfect. If he can’t figure out how to be sexually attracted to her, then what is he doing? (I think he’s asking himself this which leads him to understand that…) He is 100% gay.
But, what does Rose, as an Ilya mirror, do for Shane, not just as a character?
Now we’re thinking a layer deeper in the subtext. If Rose IS Ilya here, does Rose/Ilya provide Shane with a safe and open place to finally accept his queerness? Does Rose/Ilya provide him time and grace to determine that Ilya is it for Shane? He doesn’t want anyone else. And, the second he no longer entertains the idea of ever finding a woman to settle down which is what is expected of him in his profession, by his friends, his sponsors, his fans and his parents, he comes right back to Ilya. He’s finally able to fully present his whole self to Ilya without any lingering expectation of leading a heteronormative life in public and sidelining Ilya either forever or keeping him as a sidequest cheating on a future wife whenever their schedules line up. (Ilya deserves better than that.) He determines that wants to live his life by Ilya’s side in whatever capacity Ilya will take him. (Though, Shane deserves better than that too.)
This whole Rose/Ilya gives hims space and time to figure out who he is and what he wants, lead to the coming out scene. In the hotel in Florida, Shane finally admits to Ilya that he is gay. This is the first time he said those words out loud to anyone. Ilya’s response is “Okay. So, you’re gay. What does it matter? Why are you telling me this?” To me this time with Rose/Ilya gave Shane the freedom to explore those feelings. Rose, the character, made him understand he was not attracted to women. While Ilya, in the subtext, gave him the space to find himself without any pressure. Actually, Ilya in “Rookies” episode 1 jokes with Shane in their second sex scene when Ilya proposes anal sex for the first time, says “Does touching your ass make you gay? ‘Cause you know what else makes you gay? Is sucking dick”. So, Ilya has been open with his acceptance of Shane’s sexuality from the very beginning even if Shane didn’t quite understand, yet, his identity.
Equally, Rose essentially outs Shane to them both with her delicate handling of that restaurant scene. They both tell Shane before Shane tells them. She actually apologizes to him about how she approaches the conversation which I think could represent Ilya apologizing to Shane for how later he bluntly says “Okay. So, you’re gay. What does it matter?” Because it does matter to Shane who finally made peace with that reality and felt comfortable enough to say it to the one person who he could tell and with whom it might be important to know. He’s telling Ilya here, there will be no public relationships with women, no future marriages with women, no beards. He’s implying that he would probably not come out to the world but would possibly lie by omitting his sexuality from public discussion.
The thing about subtext is it’s not linear. It doesn’t chronologically flow with the main story. Notice above how we get Rose/Ilya apologizing for mishandling Ilya’s later impatient tone when Shane comes out to him. I am not smart enough to have caught that preemptive apology from Rose/Ilya. Maybe you were.
So, Rose/Ilya allows for Shane to truly find out his sexuality AND who he wants in his future.
Actually, I was almost done writing this article not wanting to miss any dialogue in this scene outside the restaurant between them pledging to stay friends. I just happened to go back and watch the whole coming out scene with Rose before that through the lens of Ilya speaking as Rose. (I did not realize they had actually completed the whole ‘date’ because the waitress took away their plates seconds before the scene in a wide shot.) Definitely Still an Amateur writer here was balling. This connection below is new to me today, like now-today. Whereas most of what I’ve written thus far had been worked out months ago. I guess that’s what I get for being stingy about watching the series fully only four times up to this point; I miss important subtextual details.
Picture from: https://heated-rivalry.com/heated-rivalry-season-one/
If we imagine Ilya speaking through Rose, we could assume that when Rose says “We’re not meant to fit. And, it’s really fine. I don’t think that we can keep trying” after unsuccessfully using the square-peg-in-a-round-hole metaphor, Ilya is really saying “what we have makes no sense. We don’t have to keep trying at this relationship. It doesn’t make sense in our life and we keep ending on bad terms. We should just let go.”
That made me cry. Besides the fact that the scene is so beautifully executed in every possible way, poor Ilya struggles to see a way forward with Shane in their current state of staying in the closet to protect their status in the hockey world. He sees how terribly they end each time and doesn’t know if Shane will come back again. And, Ilya knows that he is partially to blame for how badly they end each time.
So, Rose/Ilya admitting they won’t work out as a couple came before the first solid piece of subtext that matched Ilya to Rose in my mind. The line about her gay boyfriends comes later in this scene. And, the “makes no sense” line comes close to the end of this same episode. Which is why it’s so important to look at larger patterns. Since subtext doesn’t follow the main story line, once you find that connection of, say, a Mirror Character, you can pull more meaning from how characters interact.
If subtext does not always chronologically follow the storyline, I’d like to think about that line again “This movie makes no sense.” Rose says it late in the “I’ll Believe in Anything” episode 5. Considering what we know of the evolution of Shane’s and Ilya’s relationship, this line doesn’t really fit in the end of episode 5. Ilya at this point is very much in love with Shane. He just saw Shane taken away by an ambulance after taking a hard hit on the ice, he doesn’t know if Shane was seriously injured and has no way to find out without blowing their cover. He’s in deep. I’m not sure he’s thinking “This makes no sense” at this moment. His problems are more ‘Does Shane love me in return and how do we make what we have work in our current life?’
If we study the scene in episode 5 a little more, Rose is preparing to reshoot scenes from the movie she filmed while dating Shane. They spoke about that movie during their first date. I’m betting this line is intended to reference the original mention of the movie in the restaurant on their “first date”. But, what just happened previously in Ilya’s and Shane’s timeline? Ilya unsuccessfully tried to take steps towards a deeper, more emotional relationship with Shane which ended in the Tuna Meltdown. So, is this Ilya at this time in “Rose” episode 4 after the meltdown really thinking “This makes no sense”? Feeling the emotional ricochet from their last failed encounter, Ilya might be trying to work through why Shane makes him feel the way he does. He simply cannot wrap his head around why he loves Shane. And, he’s pretty sure Shane feels the same way in return. (They admit to Yuna and David at the cottage that they don’t understand why they are in love either.)
Speaking of subtext being chronologically out of order, let’s look at the elements of that scene again with Rose in the chair painted blue. She is preparing for a reshoot of the movie originally mentioned months earlier on Shane’s and Rose’s first unplanned date.
What just happened in this timeline that rattled Ilya? Just a few short scenes earlier, Shane was taken away by an ambulance after a serious hit on the ice. Ilya has no way of knowing if Shane is okay after the game as well as during the night without blowing their cover. He was in deep already as per Storrie’s performance in Shane’s hospital room the next morning. The line “The movie makes no sense” does not really work here. Ilya knows he loves Shane already. He’s no longer grappling with this reality. Though, he has a bigger problem in that he doesn’t really know for sure if Shane loves him in return or how they go about navigating their relationship moving forward.
I’d wager that line references the original mention of the movie on Rose’s and Shane’s first date. What is happening in Ilya’s and Shane’s timeline during that first date? The emotional backlash of Ilya’s failed attempt at forging a more emotional connection with Shane that led to the Tuna Meltdown scene weighs heavy in his thoughts. Nothing about that encounter ended well for Ilya. He’s probably wondering about a redo. That line happens with Rose in a reshoot of parts of the movie that didn’t work out. Can he try that conversation again in a different way that might produce better results, fix the parts that didn’t work out the first time? Can he try to ‘reshoot’ that conversation again to see if Shane is willing to take things more emotionally serious? Because during Shane’s and Rose’s first date, Ilya doesn’t know that happens. He still thinks Shane is single and that he can try again. He still has a shot.
The line “This movie makes no sense” works here because he probably can’t wrap his head around why he loves Shane so fiercely and why Shane’s rejection cut so much deeper than anyone else’s. Which may be why he reacts so aggresively in the gym to the news that Shane and Rose are in a relationship. Ilya had a plan to redo (reshoot) that conversation and now that’s no longer an option. Loving women (making kidnapping movies) is easier. This whole relationship stuff is so much harder.
Some more tidbits after the restaurant scene (which is why I actually went back to watch it in the first place): Outside, she begs him to text her and that she will text him all of the time. She says “You’ll wish you never met me!” implying that she would be texting him a ridiculous amount. What does Ilya do but text Shane incessantly? Ilya very much pursues Shane through texting.
I know I’m taking this scene out of order but, Rose, as Ilya, earlier also gives Shane the permission to talk to him about his queerness. She realizes that she is the only one he might be able to do so with openly as a friend. Ilya here offers to Shane more than just someone Shane sleeps with. Ilya wants to be more to Shane than just a lover. He wants to be Shane’s friend and confidant as well.
We all noticed that once Shane started dating Rose, Ilya stopped pursuing Shane. It’s almost as if the screenwriters didn’t dare subject Shane to two Ilyas at one time, the menace that he is. Though, that’s how it’s presented in the book too if I recall.
What’s ironic and beautifully written is that Rose, the character, is the perfect fit for Shane in every way that Ilya isn’t. And, Ilya is perfect for Shane in every way that Rose isn’t. They are different sides of the same coin. And, they are the same person in this show (Rose as Ilya in the subtext). Does this foreshadow Shane’s future? A future with everything he could possibly want and desire in a romantic partner? If you read the books you know.
What did I miss with Rose? Their text exchange? Can you find anything specific in the subtext from that? I think that two-side-of-the-same-coin is evident here with her use of the angel emoji in juxtaposition with Ilya’s use of the purple devil emoji. She mentions ‘shooting’ which could for Ilya mean shooting goals or shooting, um, well I’m sure you can guess where this is going… Yes? Please say ‘yes’. I feel like there could be more to that bit but I’m losing my wind and it’s been almost 3 weeks since I’ve posted. I got to get this article out!
If I missed anything else about Rose that could lend to knowing more about Ilya, toss it in the comments so we can hash it out there.
Ironically, most of the subtext I’ve found relates to Ilya, not just because of Rose. There is more! That could be because he’s such an endearing character and Jacob Tierney wanted to explore Ilya more in the subtext or it’s harder to understand Ilya on the surface. Also, if you’ve read the Game Changer series, Ilya plays the role of hockey fairy menace wherever he goes. Characters are constantly confused about his intense ‘perceiving’ of them and others. In the books, he’s coy about his personal life so no one really truly knows him except Shane. Providing subtext for Ilya helps the audience figure out who he is when he’s not one to share.
Similarly to Kip, Elena and his dad, provide us more information about Kip’s thoughts, Rose provides us pertinent information about Ilya’s inner thoughts we wouldn’t otherwise know. There are many other characters in the Heated Rivalry series universe who represent Ilya in some capacity and I can’t wait to dive into them all with you. But, there are also other characters that serve purposes other than Heart and Mind or Mirror Characters. It’s kind of gnarly once you know.
Hopefully I can write about a good majority of what I want to go over before the Season 2 premier in 2027. Will Tierney and his team keep using these other characters in the same manner as Season 1? Time will tell. And, with the potential introduction of three other sets of main characters from Reid’s book series, including all of the characters in their mini-universes, the possibilities are endless.
While I have a lot to write about, the next topic is up for grabs. Does anyone want to suggest something? I’m all (mirr)ears. is a Mirror Character.
See you at the Cottage!